Alethea has always been awkward - eccentric, even. On a typical day she spends her time cloistered inside a tiny apartment hiding from the world she doesn't really understand. When her therapist encourages her to push herself outside her comfort zon...
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Rome had never been on my 'places to visit' list. It just wasn't. I honestly never understood the appeal. Thousands of people and animals had at one time been slaughtered in the Colosseum just for sport and many of the rulers of Rome had been egotistical, power-hungry maniacs. How did that make for an alluring tourist attraction? I didn't get it.
But here we were anyway, on our way to the hotel after a tense three hour flight. I had been nervous since we left England. To be honest, I had expected Moroi to be stalking us in the shadows, ready to attack at any moment. But he was either still in purgatory or had other plans for our demise because we hadn't seen him or any other vampire during the trip.
Roran opened the door on my side of the taxi and I returned my attention to the present. Apparently I had been so immersed in my thoughts I hadn't noticed we'd already arrived at the hotel.
"Grazie, signore," Roran called to the driver as he shut the car door. "Buona serata."
"You speak Italian, too?" I asked, wondering just how many languages he had mastered.
"Sì, tesoro. I speak Italian," he replied with a smirk. "Along with four other languages. Are you impressed?"
I scowled and crossed my arms. "Annoyed and a little jealous maybe, but impressed? Meh," I said, waving my hand in a noncommittal gesture.
He only grinned in response, seeing through my obvious lie. He was impressive. Definitely the most impressive man I had ever met - but then he had lived nearly two thousand years longer than most men so he had an obvious advantage. Honestly I felt like a complete dunce around him most of the time.
"Could you teach me?"
He smiled. "What, Italian? Or all of the languages I know?"
"Hmm, well, which languages do you know aside from Italian?"
"Spanish, Russian, French, and some Japanese."
I opened my mouth to speak, but Roran cut me off with a shake of his head, signaling for me to be quiet.
"Something's not right."
I peered around the hotel. It was nice, sophisticated, with white walls and beautiful marble floors. It certainly didn't feel sinister to me.
"How do you mean?"
He pulled me nearer to him and whispered, "Stay close to me, Thea."
"I don't understand," I whispered back, starting to feel panicked. "What's bothering you?"
"This is one of the busiest hotels in the area. I rented our room here for that reason. I figured Moroi would think twice before causing a scene with lots of people."
"Yeah, it makes sense. So?"
"So, where is everyone? Where is the hotel clerk? Where are the employees?"
I took another look around, this time seeing exactly what he meant. The lobby was empty.
"Should we leave or-"
"Yes." He nodded once. "Now."
He didn't have to tell me twice. I sprinted for the door, only to realize upon reaching it that we wouldn't be able to get out. A board had been jammed between the two door handles on the outside and when I pushed on them they only moved about an inch.
"Move," Roran grunted.
As I stepped aside, he shoved the door hard twice with his shoulder before taking two steps back and kicking it with all his strength. The board didn't break completely, but the wood did crack a little. One more kick and it was possible we might just make it out.
"I knew you were a brute, but for goodness sakes would you stop kicking things like a bloody barbarian?"
At the sound of Moroi's voice I froze, much like I had done in my parent's kitchen. Only this time I didn't scream and I regained my senses quickly, digging into my bag for the knife Roran had insisted I carry. Speaking of Roran, I expected him to turn and confront our vampire enemy but instead he ignored Moroi and kept his focus on the door. With one last kick it went splintering outwards, chunks wood and glass hitting a car sitting at the curb.
"Fight or run?" he asked me, turning his body to the side so he could watch both Moroi and me at the same time.
"What, you're asking me?" I whisper shouted at him.
"You're a part of this as much as I am, Thea. If you want to stay and fight, we'll do it together, but if we can make it to the Vatican..."
"You won't," Moroi interrupted. "I've posted vampires on every street from here to Vatican City and it's less than an hour until sunset. You would never make it."
I glared at him, hating the way he looked so confident with his feet propped up on the lobby desk. "Well, then, I guess I choose to stay and fight."
He scoffed. "Stay and die, you mean? Because you have no chance of defeating me."
Roran let out a laugh. "No chance? Thea's mother took you out with a kitchen knife. Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."
A spine-chilling growl rumbled from Moroi's chest and he leapt over the desk toward us with his fangs bared. I shrieked like a banshee and probably would have fled the building if it hadn't been for Roran. He stood beside me, not saying a word and looking completely unafraid. Not wanting to look like a total weenie next to him, I squared my shoulders and faced Moroi head on, or I would have if I could have stopped my knees from quaking.
"I was overconfident and unprepared before, I won't be making the same mistake." Bestowing us with the most sinister grin I had ever had the displeasure of encountering, he continued, "This time I've planned ahead and we have quite an itinerary of activities for the two of you. Torture, maiming, evisceration, death. It's going to be a fun day."
I swallowed hard and whispered, "We?"
Moroi turned his black eyes on me and I had to try really hard to keep from peeing my pants.
"Oh, did you think I came here alone?"
He waved a hand to signal whoever he had brought along, and when I caught sight of his entourage my heart stopped.
"Thea, run," Roran hissed at me.
But I couldn't. My legs were practically jello and shaking so hard I was surprised to still be standing.
"Run!" he shouted at me again, pulling me alongside him as Moroi's laughter followed us out into the street.
...
Okay, okay. I know it's short. There is a reason for that though. You will see in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Please remember to vote.
Also, I don't speak Italian so if I wrote something incorrect blame Google Translate.
